[lushmelody]

I don't think so. Bass is a lot easier to EQ than treble. On HEXA I just increase the mid and upper bass and the bass slams good! Meanwhile with some 3rd party eartips my 7Hz Timeless are not so easy to EQ the treble as sometimes it's shouty.

Yeah, just a +bass shelf and everything is fine, considering it is a quality LCP driver. I still do EQ a lot, especially commuting and at gym. Home I do BitPerfect though, so cant EQ. Quiet environments dont need that elevated bass, I guess

Anyway, HEXA and a warm DAC will still cost less than Zetian Wu

 

[helloh3adfi]

Anyway, HEXA and a warm DAC will still cost less than Zetian Wu

Why not both? You never know what's best for you until you try. Zetian Wu surely would be great. Yet I haven't bought it 'cause I already own the Timeless. Furthermore Penon Serial is the most fun of my IEMs and the frequency doesn't look far-off of the Zetian.

 

[baskingshark]

I'm afraid it will stay bass shy for my preference. Id EQ it... But its also tempting pay double for Zetian Wu with no EQ need, idk. It will be a choice for Chinese New Year sales anyway, maybe a new deal til then. I'll resist this hobby FOMO

The HEXA has a huge mid-bass scoop out, so it may sound anaemic for genres like Hip Hop or EDM yes. The HEXA's bass is mostly focused at the sub-bass, so different strokes for different folks.

On the flip-side, this mid-bass scoop out gives zero mid-bass bleed, so the bass is very fast and tight, and the midrange is very transparent without the mid-bass impinging inside this frequency band.

would it be good from shanling UA3 dongle?

Yep, UA3 should be able to drive the HEXA decently.

 

[tendou]

I guess your IEM diversity with that “male and female duet to be equally balanced” part a hint where you may find the ideal curve for.

I’d suggest qdc tuning.

The best you can reach is Anole VX, mid budget options (DUNU SA6 ($560 )& SA6 Ultra (already sold out for $599 as it was 300set limited collaboration item). If a little bit more engaged, See Audio Bravery (OG $279, new shell around the same price)—still one of my endgame for vocal-oriented genre. It’s a bit high In hurdles, but I see a startup in Singapore (Aur Audio) makes Bravery on steroids,Neon Pro for $650. Someone have extensive experience mentioned if properly amped Aur Audio Neon Pro is par or above Anole VX (I’s take it because of slightly spiced up tuning of Neon Pro like Bravery has)

My understanding for qdc tuning is U-shaped with equal mid-uppermid plateau. This will bring you both excitement and equally balanced male /female vocals.

There is a budget option for that tuning, TRI’s Starsea.

If you are seeking more balanced tuning, You may hit Mangird Tea (OG) or AFUL Performer 5, both has very flat expressions across vocal range.

Tea (current $239) is replaced with XENNS Mangird Tea2(299), much smoother feeling of Tea2, in exchange of loss in male vocal range information density. Tea is 6BA+1DD 3 way design. It has TOTL class mid range, as they’ve spent 90% of their budget in midrange. Backed by 4BA of Sonion 2600, totaling 8BA left/right for vocal range, I have to emphasize Tea OG is vocal-beast.

For AFUL P5 going at $220, it has simple 4BA+1DD popular config, 2BA as tweeter, 2BA for mid, 1 DD for subwoofer. The mid-upper range is extremely neutral, but still enjoyable. What makes P5 special is speaker-like thumping subwoofer, which will add realistic touch to baritone region of which male vocal will gain benefit.

Also @baskingshark mentioned, HEXA is very vocal-neutral as well, with best cost to performance you could reach. A great option to bet. And it’s $79, a fraction of what the other options are offering.

The HEXA has a huge mid-bass scoop out, so it may sound anaemic for genres like Hip Hop or EDM yes. The HEXA's bass is mostly focused at the sub-bass, so different strokes for different folks.

On the flip-side, this mid-bass scoop out gives zero mid-bass bleed, so the bass is very fast and tight, and the midrange is very transparent without the mid-bass impinging inside this frequency band.



Yep, UA3 should be able to drive the HEXA decently.

Thanks! I am leaning more toward the hexa now.
Among the sugestion that you gives the hexa suits my budget best.

 

[Dex7771]

Hi, I have Olina iems, I listen it with SMSL do 100 & ho100. Sound is nice, but want to try iems with less air, some tracks with Olina, sound like they have too much reverbration, some tracks are fine. Is there iems with good detail sound and with less air and reverbration effect? Just want to try different flat sound, like scene is not around you, but in front of you, what about tin hifi t3+?

 

[AmericanSpirit]

Hi, I have Olina iems, I listen it with SMSL do 100 & ho100. Sound is nice, but want to try iems with less air, some tracks with Olina, sound like they have too much reverbration, some tracks are fine. Is there iems with good detail sound and with less air and reverbration effect? Just want to try different flat sound, like scene is not around you, but in front of you, what about tin hifi t3+?

You may consider Truthear ZERO as one of the candidates.

Impression notes , A-B test with Moondrop Kato, Moondrop Aria, cable match fro ZERO

It has image projection toward front, not side, with very very high technicalities and pretty “flat” tuning that’s not too far from one of those HBB’s favorite tunings.
My recommendation is to purchase SpinFit CP360 to retune the internal acoustic resonance. But even so it cost less than Olina’s.

Or from your assertion, it sounds like you are looking more intimate reference monitor headphone like imaging projection which add very few colors, if so Truthear HEXA $79 is a good fit for sub $300. HEXA has good synergy with SpinFit W1.

Another option is AFUL Performer 5, which is currently out of stock, but soon you will see the second batch. It cost $220, and has very instrument-neutral approach.

All those three has above 80/100 technicalities which is one of highest competitive benchmarks that an IEM can score as high with a fraction of the price of high-end models.

 

[Carpet]

Hi, I have Olina iems, I listen it with SMSL do 100 & ho100. Sound is nice, but want to try iems with less air, some tracks with Olina, sound like they have too much reverbration, some tracks are fine. Is there iems with good detail sound and with less air and reverbration effect? Just want to try different flat sound, like scene is not around you, but in front of you, what about tin hifi t3+?

Have you tried putting one of the spare filters over the existing filter on the nozzle. That tones down the upper mids and treble harshness. It's a very simple mod that Michael Bruce came up with that brings the Olina tuning closer to that of the Oxygen (and Olina SE). Dead easy to do and completely reversible if you don't like it. You should already have 10 spare filters that came with the IEM. Cheaper than buying something else. Tip rolling can also help, KBEAR07 or foams will smooth out treble.

I find the 2021 Aria less aggressive in the upper frequencies than either the Olina or the T3+. I know some people consider the Moondrop tuning too safe, but you already have Olina for better technical performance.

 

[baskingshark]

Hi, I have Olina iems, I listen it with SMSL do 100 & ho100. Sound is nice, but want to try iems with less air, some tracks with Olina, sound like they have too much reverbration, some tracks are fine. Is there iems with good detail sound and with less air and reverbration effect? Just want to try different flat sound, like scene is not around you, but in front of you, what about tin hifi t3+?

Tin T3 plus is a downgrade from the Olina. V shaped, with bloated non-textured one-noted bass, technically inferior to Olina.

Maybe if you want a "flat sound", consider the Truthear Hexa, it is neutral with sub-bass boost. It has a smaller soundstage than the Olina, but isn't as shouty/fatiguing, with less air.

 

[Dex7771]

You may consider Truthear ZERO as one of the candidates. Impression notes , A-B test with Moondrop Kato, Moondrop Aria, cable match fro ZERO It has image projection toward front, not side, with very very high technicalities and pretty “flat” tuning that’s not too far from one of those HBB’s favorite tunings. My recommendation is to purchase SpinFit CP360 to retune the internal acoustic resonance. But even so it cost less than Olina’s. Or from your assertion, it sounds like you are looking more intimate reference monitor headphone like imaging projection which add very few colors, if so Truthear HEXA $79 is a good fit for sub $300. HEXA has good synergy with SpinFit W1. Another option is AFUL Performer 5, which is currently out of stock, but soon you will see the second batch. It cost $220, and has very instrument-neutral approach. All those three has above 80/100 technicalities which is one of highest competitive benchmarks that an IEM can score as high with a fraction of the price of high-end models.

Ok, thank you, I also heard that Hexa is good to try, Olina is good, but how I said, I want to try something different too.

 

[Dex7771]

Have you tried putting one of the spare filters over the existing filter on the nozzle. That tones down the upper mids and treble harshness. It's a very simple mod that Michael Bruce came up with that brings the Olina tuning closer to that of the Oxygen (and Olina SE). Dead easy to do and completely reversible if you don't like it. You should already have 10 spare filters that came with the IEM. Cheaper than buying something else. Tip rolling can also help, KBEAR07 or foams will smooth out treble.

I find the 2021 Aria less aggressive in the upper frequencies than either the Olina or the T3+. I know some people consider the Moondrop tuning too safe, but you already have Olina for better technical performance.

Yes I did double filter mod. Also I have kbear foams, they are nice. Olina sound nice, just some tracks sound with too much reverb effect, maybe it also depends on tracks, how they were recorded. And having more items also not bad, you can switch to another sound

 

[Dex7771]

Tin T3 plus is a downgrade from the Olina. V shaped, with bloated non-textured one-noted bass, technically inferior to Olina.

Maybe if you want a "flat sound", consider the Truthear Hexa, it is neutral with sub-bass boost. It has a smaller soundstage than the Olina, but isn't as shouty/fatiguing, with less air.

Thank you, so I won't buy T3+, hexa have good reviews, so maybe it really worth to try them, is vocal close there? Olina anyway is nice, but sometimes in some tracks I want more flat sound. You also have Olina and Hexa how I see, which one do you like more? And what is difference between them? Isn't Hexa bright? I like normal bass also.

 

[AmericanSpirit]

Thank you, so I won't buy T3+, hexa have good reviews, so maybe it really worth to try them, is vocal close there? Olina anyway is nice, but sometimes in some tracks I want more flat sound. You also have Olina and Hexa how I see, which one do you like more? And what is difference between them?

For the neutral approach moving from Olina, yes HEXA is the best neutral you could reach.

Note that is a little bass light, while not completely dead flat in bass.

 

[Dex7771]

For the neutral approach moving from Olina, yes HEXA is the best neutral you could reach.

Note that is a little bass light, while not completely dead flat in bass.

I see, I can do some EQ for a bass, yes I need more neutral for some tracks. How do you think, should I try also fullsize headphones? I have one cheap fullsize headphones, Samson, but Olina sound better. Do some of your fullsize headphones sound better than hexa and another iems? What I like in iems, that you can take it anywhere.

 

[AmericanSpirit]

I see, I can do some EQ for a bass, yes I need more neutral for some tracks. How do you think, should I try also fullsize headphones? I have one cheap fullsize headphones, Samson, but Olina sound better. Do some of your fullsize headphones sound better than hexa and another iems? What I like in iems, that you can take it anywhere.

Samson is pretty day-to-day use studio headphone that I used to use in the studio, it’s not for entertaining music.

For Studio Monitor headphones, you may consider:
Sony’s CD900ST, Audio Technica’s ATH-M50, Beyerdynamics DT770Pro/990Pro, Sennheiser’s HD25, AKG K271/371, and for reasonably priced copy of AKG, there are ODM versions Superlux HD668B around $50.

For entertaining music, you may consider:
Sennheiser HD600 or HD560S, Hifiman Sundara, AKG K701 for $150-300.

But I’m pretty sure HEXA is a step up from Olina.

 

[Dex7771]

Samson is pretty day-to-day use studio headphone that I used to use in the studio, it’s not for entertaining music.

For Studio Monitor headphones, you may consider:
Sony’s CD900ST, Audio Technica’s ATH-M50, Beyerdynamics DT770Pro/990Pro, Sennheiser’s HD25, AKG K271/371, and for reasonably priced copy of AKG, there are ODM versions Superlux HD668B around $50.



For entertaining music, you may consider:
Sennheiser HD600 or HD560S, Hifiman Sundara, AKG K701 for $150-300.

But I’m pretty sure HEXA is a step up from Olina.

I have Samson 850, it's not expensive, good for their price, but they sound worse than Olina, no basses, vocal is not close, yes they are not for entertainment music. Do you hear big difference between fullsize and iems? Maybe will try in future HD600 or Sundara, I heard about them often.